Sophie Friedman

The best things to do in Shanghai’s Old City are exploring what’s left of the Old City and visiting Yu Garden.

As the international concessions developed following the Opium War in 1842, the Old City became known by foreigners as the Chinese City, as local Chinese were not permitted to live in the foreign concessions. The Old City is (and remains) circular in shape, but the defensive wall that once surrounded it is long gone. Today, the Old City’s housing and back alleyways are disappearing quickly, but if you venture off the small roads around Yu Garden, you’ll be rewarded with a picture of traditional Chinese life that hasn’t changed much in the last hundred years.

Yu Garden (yuyuan) is Shanghai’s answer to Suzhou’s beautiful classical Chinese gardens. Yu Garden dates back to 1559 but has been renovated several times since. Today, the garden covers five acres and is designed in traditional Suzhou style, with lots of rocks, greenery, and pagodas. Yu Garden is mobbed at the weekends and in the afternoons, so it’s best to come on weekday mornings. Within the Yu Garden complex is a bazaar selling all sorts of tchotchkes and the City God Temple, where you can light incense and watch as locals pay their respects to deceased relatives.

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The best things to do in Shanghai’s Old City are exploring what’s left of the Old City and visiting Yu Garden.

As the international concessions developed following the Opium War in 1842, the Old City became known by foreigners as the Chinese City, as local Chinese were not permitted to live in the foreign concessions. The Old City is (and remains) circular in shape, but the defensive wall that once surrounded it is long gone. Today, the Old City’s housing and back alleyways are disappearing quickly, but if you venture off the small roads around Yu Garden, you’ll be rewarded with a picture of traditional Chinese life that hasn’t changed much in the last hundred years.

Yu Garden (yuyuan) is Shanghai’s answer to Suzhou’s beautiful classical Chinese gardens. Yu Garden dates back to 1559 but has been renovated several times since. Today, the garden covers five acres and is designed in traditional Suzhou style, with lots of rocks, greenery, and pagodas. Yu Garden is mobbed at the weekends and in the afternoons, so it’s best to come on weekday mornings. Within the Yu Garden complex is a bazaar selling all sorts of tchotchkes and the City God Temple, where you can light incense and watch as locals pay their respects to deceased relatives.

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The Puxi side of Shanghai may have most of the best bars and restaurants, but Pudong’s got skyscrapers in spades. The best thing to do in Pudong in Shanghai is take in the view. Jinmao Tower (home to the Grand Hyatt) and Shanghai World Financial Center (home to the Park Hyatt) are Shanghai’s two tallest skyscrapers, and will stay that way until 2015, when the new Shanghai Tower will top them. Both have observation decks—Jinmao’s is on the 88th floor and SWFC has three on the 94th, 97th, and 100th floors; the 100th is the world’s highest observatory.

The views from the top are sweeping, but what I like even more than the observation decks themselves is heading to the Park or Grand Hyatts for a drink or a bite. You get the same view, for the same price, but in significantly more comfort and with fewer people elbowing for space. Afternoon tea at the Living Room at the Park Hyatt is particularly lovely and is Shanghai’s highest afternoon tea.

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The Puxi side of Shanghai may have most of the best bars and restaurants, but Pudong’s got skyscrapers in spades. The best thing to do in Pudong in Shanghai is take in the view. Jinmao Tower (home to the Grand Hyatt) and Shanghai World Financial Center (home to the Park Hyatt) are Shanghai’s two tallest skyscrapers, and will stay that way until 2015, when the new Shanghai Tower will top them. Both have observation decks—Jinmao’s is on the 88th floor and SWFC has three on the 94th, 97th, and 100th floors; the 100th is the world’s highest observatory.

The views from the top are sweeping, but what I like even more than the observation decks themselves is heading to the Park or Grand Hyatts for a drink or a bite. You get the same view, for the same price, but in significantly more comfort and with fewer people elbowing for space. Afternoon tea at the Living Room at the Park Hyatt is particularly lovely and is Shanghai’s highest afternoon tea.

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The Bund is Shanghai’s crown jewel, a riverside promenade lined with 52 buildings of varying architectural styles, all of them dating back to the 1920s and 30s. The best things to do on the Bund in Shanghai are take in the architecture, wine and dine, and dance the night away.

Shanghai has plenty of terrible Soviet Bloc architecture, but along the Bund, it’s all gorgeous Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism, and Art Deco buildings from Shanghai’s Golden Age. Both the Fairmont Peace Hotel and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund are in gorgeous historic buildings. To get the full span of the Bund’s architecture, I recommend starting north near the Peninsula  and going south, or vice versa.

If all that walking has you feeling peckish, avail yourself of one of the Bund’s many restaurants, all of which offer sweeping views.  When the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze, Sunday afternoon tea on the terrace at M on the Bund is positively delightful. Other excellent options include Mr and Mrs Bund, which is open very late Friday and Saturday nights, 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Italian restaurant Mercato. Bund-side restaurants’ window tables book up quickly, so be sure to call ahead.

After eating, book it to one of Shanghai’s hottest clubs, Bar Rouge. Jam-packed every weekend, it’s popular with locals and expats alike. A few blocks away is M1NT, where the dance floors teems with revelers and the giant shark tank has plenty of oglers.

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The Bund is Shanghai’s crown jewel, a riverside promenade lined with 52 buildings of varying architectural styles, all of them dating back to the 1920s and 30s. The best things to do on the Bund in Shanghai are take in the architecture, wine and dine, and dance the night away.

Shanghai has plenty of terrible Soviet Bloc architecture, but along the Bund, it’s all gorgeous Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism, and Art Deco buildings from Shanghai’s Golden Age. Both the Fairmont Peace Hotel and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund are in gorgeous historic buildings. To get the full span of the Bund’s architecture, I recommend starting north near the Peninsula  and going south, or vice versa.

If all that walking has you feeling peckish, avail yourself of one of the Bund’s many restaurants, all of which offer sweeping views.  When the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze, Sunday afternoon tea on the terrace at M on the Bund is positively delightful. Other excellent options include Mr and Mrs Bund, which is open very late Friday and Saturday nights, 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Italian restaurant Mercato. Bund-side restaurants’ window tables book up quickly, so be sure to call ahead.

After eating, book it to one of Shanghai’s hottest clubs, Bar Rouge. Jam-packed every weeknight, it’s popular with locals and expats alike. A few blocks away is M1NT, where the dance floors teems with revelers and the giant shark tank has its share of oglers.

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The Bund is Shanghai’s crown jewel, a riverside promenade lined with 52 buildings of varying architectural styles, all of them dating back to the 1920s and 30s. The best things to do on the Bund in Shanghai are take in the architecture, wine and dine, and dance the night away.

Shanghai has plenty of terrible Soviet Bloc architecture, but along the Bund, it’s all gorgeous Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism, and Art Deco buildings from Shanghai’s Golden Age. Both the Fairmont Peace Hotel and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund are in gorgeous historic buildings. To get the full span of the Bund’s architecture, I recommend starting north near the Peninsula  and going south, or vice versa.

If all that walking has you feeling peckish, avail yourself of one of the Bund’s many restaurants, all of which offer sweeping views.  When the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze, Sunday afternoon tea on the terrace at M on the Bund is positively delightful. Other excellent options include Mr and Mrs Bund, which is open very late Friday and Saturday nights, 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Italian restaurant Mercato. Bund-side restaurants’ window tables book up quickly, so be sure to call ahead.

After eating, book it to one of Shanghai’s hottest clubs, Bar Rouge. Jam-packed every weeknight, it’s popular with locals and expats alike. A few blocks away is M1NT, where the dance floors teems with revelers and the giant shark tank has its share of oglers.

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The Bund is Shanghai’s crown jewel, a riverside promenade lined with 52 buildings of varying architectural styles, all of them dating back to the 1920s and 30s. The best things to do on the Bund in Shanghai are take in the architecture, wine and dine, and dance the night away.

Shanghai has plenty of terrible Soviet Bloc architecture, but along the Bund, it’s all gorgeous Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism, and Art Deco buildings from Shanghai’s Golden Age. Both the Fairmont Peace Hotel and Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund are in gorgeous historic buildings. To get the full span of the Bund’s architecture, I recommend starting north near the Peninsula Shanghai and going south, or vice versa.

If all that walking has you feeling peckish, avail yourself of one of the Bund’s many restaurants, all of which offer sweeping views.  When the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze, Sunday afternoon tea on the terrace at M on the Bund is positively delightful. Other excellent options include Mr and Mrs Bund, which is open very late Friday and Saturday nights, 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Italian restaurant Mercato. Bund-side restaurants’ window tables book up quickly, so be sure to call ahead.

After eating, book it to one of Shanghai’s hottest clubs, Bar Rouge. Jam-packed every weeknight, it’s popular with locals and expats alike. A few blocks away is M1NT, where the dance floors teems with revelers and the giant shark tank has its share of oglers.

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Shiny, new hotels abound in Shanghai, but there are also a number of well-preserved historical gems. These are the best historic hotels in Shanghai.

Fairmont Peace Hotel
Its copper-faced pyramid (now green) is immediately recognizable on the Bund skyline, but did you know it once housed a dining room? The Five-Star Fairmont Peace Hotel, nee the Peace Hotel, was once and is now again one of Shanghai’s most luxurious hotels, and one with unbeatable history. The building was built in 1929 by Victor Sassoon and was originally the Cathay Hotel. After the 1949 Communist takeover, it became government offices and, in 1956, re-opened as the government-owned Peace Hotel. In 2007, Fairmont came in and refurbished the hotel, returning it to its former glory.

Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund
The front building of this two-part hotel is the Shanghai Club building, a gorgeous Baroque Revival structure from 1910. It was once home to exclusive men’s group the Shanghai Club, whose members made good use of the hotel’s Long Bar—once the world’s lengthiest—which is still in place today. The Japanese took over the building in 1941 and the Communist party in 1949; in 1971 it became the government run Dongfeng Hotel and in 1990 became home to Shanghai’s first KFC, which stayed there for six years. The beautiful building sat empty until 2009, when Hilton took over and the Five-Star Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund was born.

Le Sun Chine
This four-storey villa was built in 1932 by the Sun family, and even Sun Yat-sen made appearances. Chen Le and Sebastian Sun opened the 17-room hotel in March 2011 and since then guests have been basking in its quiet, tucked-away luxury. Stepping inside is like going back in time; the décor is meant to bring you back to the 30s—think  CD players disguised as phonographs. Each room is named after a street from old Shanghai. The hotel is tiny but stunning.

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In 20 years, Pudong, the once rural section of Shanghai, has gone from swampland to skyscraping. With that boom came a rise in hotels, and there are now plenty of places to stay on what downtown folk call the other side of the river. These are the best hotels in Pudong.

Lujiazui
These Pudong hotels are in Lujiazui, Shanghai’s CBD, which can be reached by metro line 2 to Lujiazui or Dongchang Lu stops.


The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong 
Attached to the ifc Mall, the hotel has super easy access to metro line 2, which’ll whisk you across the Huangpu River to downtown Shanghai; the Nanjing Dong Lu station is the next stop. Still, it can be sorely tempting not to leave the Ritz at all. The contemporary Art Deco-inspired rooms are enormously comfortable, and so too are the public areas. The view of Shanghai from rooftop bar Flair is unbelievable; sitting outside, you’ll feel like reaching out to touch the glowing pearl tower.

Pudong Shangri-La
Just around the corner from the Ritz is this enormous, 1,000-room hotel, a Lujiazui mainstay. The hotel has six restaurants, including the excellent, ultra family friendly Yi Café, with its for-the-young-and-young-at-heart make your own sundae bar. The Shangri-La is particularly popular with business travelers, especially those here in large groups, so do a little mingling in the lobby and you may find yourself with new opportunities.

Park Hyatt Shanghai
The views alone are worth coming up here, even if you’re staying across the river in Puxi. This is China’s tallest hotel—its floors 79-93—and you’ll be staring straight into the clouds. Shanghai World Financial Center, which houses Park Hyatt Shanghai, has a slew of its own restaurants and a few shops, but for knock-out views, tuck into lunch at one of the hotel’s in-house restaurants, like 100 Century Avenue, or work up an appetite for dainty afternoon tea.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai
The older sibling to Park Hyatt and once China’s tallest hotel, Grand Hyatt Shanghai has spectacular views of the Bund as well as the surrounding Pudong cityscape. The hotel is home to a 33-floor atrium, one of the world’s highest, as well as the world’s longest laundry chute.

Century Park
These two hotels are right across the street from Century Park and close to metro line 2’s Century Park stop and Huamu Lu station on line 7.

Kerry Hotel, Pudong
This is Shanghai’s most family friendly hotel. The Adventure Zone has climbing structures, a ball pit, slides, and plenty of open play space for kids…and those who are kids at heart. Grown ups should take full advantage of the gym and spa, as well as The BREW, where Kiwi brewmaster Leon Mickelson whips up IPAs and a nice, crisp cider. Just across the street is Century Park, where visitors can hire paddle boats or take a spin on tandem bikes.

Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel
Across the street from the Kerry is this Dubai import, adjacent to the Zendai Himalayas Center. The hotel design is eye-popping; there’s a 500-year-old pagoda in the lobby, and the ceiling doubles as an LCD screen. Inside the Himalayas Center, visitors will find the Himalayas Art Museum, which showcases contemporary works. Jumeirah, too, is a stone’s throw from lush Century Park.

Expo
This hotel sits on the former Pudong Expo site, near the new China Art Museum, inside the China pavilion.

Intercontinental Shanghai Expo
Though it was built for the 2010 World Expo, this hotel is still going strong. With the new China Art Museum now open inside the China pavilion, guests at this Four-Star hotel can take in a few Rembrandts by day before retiring to the hotel’s luxe spa come late afternoon. After a massage, slip down to the hotel’s English pub, Liquor Factory, for a few pints.

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In 20 years, Pudong, the once rural section of Shanghai, has gone from swampland to skyscraping. With that boom came a rise in hotels, and there are now plenty of places to stay on what downtown folk call the other side of the river. These are the best hotels in Pudong.

Lujiazui
These Pudong hotels are in Lujiazui, Shanghai’s CBD, which can be reached by metro line 2 to Lujiazui or Dongchang Lu stops.


The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong 
Attached to the ifc Mall, the hotel has super easy access to metro line 2, which’ll whisk you across the Huangpu River to downtown Shanghai; the Nanjing Dong Lu station is the next stop. Still, it can be sorely tempting not to leave the Ritz at all. The contemporary Art Deco-inspired rooms are enormously comfortable, and so too are the public areas. The view of Shanghai from rooftop bar Flair is unbelievable; sitting outside, you’ll feel like reaching out to touch the glowing pearl tower.

Pudong Shangri-La
Just around the corner from the Ritz is this enormous, 1,000-room hotel, a Lujiazui mainstay. The hotel has six restaurants, including the excellent, ultra family friendly Yi Café, with its for-the-young-and-young-at-heart make your own sundae bar. The Shangri-La is particularly popular with business travelers, especially those here in large groups, so do a little mingling in the lobby and you may find yourself with new opportunities.

Park Hyatt Shanghai
The views alone are worth coming up here, even if you’re staying across the river in Puxi. This is China’s tallest hotel—its floors 79-93—and you’ll be staring straight into the clouds. Shanghai World Financial Center, which houses Park Hyatt Shanghai, has a slew of its own restaurants and a few shops, but for knock-out views, tuck into lunch at one of the hotel’s in-house restaurants, like 100 Century Avenue, or work up an appetite for dainty afternoon tea.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai
The older sibling to Park Hyatt and once China’s tallest hotel, Grand Hyatt Shanghai has spectacular views of the Bund as well as the surrounding Pudong cityscape. The hotel is home to a 33-floor atrium, one of the world’s highest, as well as the world’s longest laundry chute.

Century Park
These two hotels are right across the street from Century Park and close to metro line 2’s Century Park stop and Huamu Lu station on line 7.

Kerry Hotel, Pudong
This is Shanghai’s most family friendly hotel. The Adventure Zone has climbing structures, a ball pit, slides, and plenty of open play space for kids…and those who are kids at heart. Grown ups should take full advantage of the gym and spa, as well as The BREW, where Kiwi brewmaster Leon Mickelson whips up IPAs and a nice, crisp cider. Just across the street is Century Park, where visitors can hire paddle boats or take a spin on tandem bikes.

Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel
Across the street from the Kerry is this Dubai import, adjacent to the Zendai Himalayas Center. The hotel design is eye-popping; there’s a 500-year-old pagoda in the lobby, and the ceiling doubles as an LCD screen. Inside the Himalayas Center, visitors will find the Himalayas Art Museum, which showcases contemporary works. Jumeirah, too, is a stone’s throw from lush Century Park.

Expo
This hotel sits on the former Pudong Expo site, near the new China Art Museum, inside the China pavilion.

Intercontinental Shanghai Expo
Though it was built for the 2010 World Expo, this hotel is still going strong. With the new China Art Museum now open inside the China pavilion, guests at this Four-Star hotel can take in a few Rembrandts by day before retiring to the hotel’s luxe spa come late afternoon. After a massage, slip down to the hotel’s English pub, Liquor Factory, for a few pints.

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The best riverfront hotels in Shanghai are along the Bund. The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Fairmont Peace Hotel, and Peninsula Shanghai all stand along the Bund at different intervals; the Waldorf is towards the lower tip while the Peninsula sits near the northern end. Each offers views of the Huangpu River and Pudong skyline and an excellent location for exploring the city.

Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property the Fairmont Peace Hotel is Shanghai’s most storied and historically rich hotels. The original Peace Hotel, built in 1929, was two separate buildings; the then-Sassoon House housed the Cathay Hotel—what is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel. The Palace Hotel, built in 1908, is now the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. Pre-1949, it was the city’s most exclusive place to stay. The government took over in 1949; in 1956, the hotel opened again under the name Peace Hotel. It wasn’t until 2007 that Fairmont took over operations and gave the building a loving and much needed refurbishment. The result is a hotel with beautiful, plush interiors and an exterior that continues to stand the test of time. 

Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, too, has quite the history. The hotel is made up of two buildings—the Shanghai Club Building, a gorgeous Baroque Revival structure from 1910, and the new building, which sits behind the original and opened in 2011. The older building once housed Shanghai’s most exclusive men’s club and later Shanghai’s first KFC. Like the Peace Hotel, there was much tumult between 1949 and when the hotel became the Waldorf but today, the building has been restored to its former glory. Architecture buffs will be particularly keen on the original details that remain in the Shanghai Club Building. Though its got plenty of historical cred, the Waldorf is fully in the 21st century, with Bluetooth keyboards that enable your room’s plasma TV to become a computer screen.

Because of its location at the northern end of the Bund, Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property the Peninsula Shanghai’s rooms have knock-out views of the curve of the river and skyline. Every guest here is treated phenomenally, and that includes kids; the Peninsula Shanghai refers to them as junior guests and arranges fun activities so parents can enjoy the wonderful Peninsula Spa by ESPA. The rooms, of course, are luxurious, and each as its own combination fax, printer and copy machine, which the staff will use to get in touch should your “Do Not Disturb” light be switched on. Be sure to enjoy a drink on the terrace of house restaurant Sir Elly’s.

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The best riverfront hotels in Shanghai are along the Bund. The Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Fairmont Peace Hotel, and Peninsula Shanghai all stand along the Bund at different intervals; the Waldorf is towards the lower tip while the Peninsula sits near the northern end. Each offers views of the Huangpu River and Pudong skyline and an excellent location for exploring the city.

Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property the Fairmont Peace Hotel is Shanghai’s most storied and historically rich hotels. The original Peace Hotel, built in 1929, was two separate buildings; the then-Sassoon House housed the Cathay Hotel—what is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel. The Palace Hotel, built in 1908, is now the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. Pre-1949, it was the city’s most exclusive place to stay. The government took over in 1949; in 1956, the hotel opened again under the name Peace Hotel. It wasn’t until 2007 that Fairmont took over operations and gave the building a loving and much needed refurbishment. The result is a hotel with beautiful, plush interiors and an exterior that continues to stand the test of time. 

Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, too, has quite the history. The hotel is made up of two buildings—the Shanghai Club Building, a gorgeous Baroque Revival structure from 1910, and the new building, which sits behind the original and opened in 2011. The older building once housed Shanghai’s most exclusive men’s club and later Shanghai’s first KFC. Like the Peace Hotel, there was much tumult between 1949 and when the hotel became the Waldorf but today, the building has been restored to its former glory. Architecture buffs will be particularly keen on the original details that remain in the Shanghai Club Building. Though its got plenty of historical cred, the Waldorf is fully in the 21st century, with Bluetooth keyboards that enable your room’s plasma TV to become a computer screen.

Because of its location at the northern end of the Bund, Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property the Peninsula Shanghai’s rooms have knock-out views of the curve of the river and skyline. Every guest here is treated phenomenally, and that includes kids; the Peninsula Shanghai refers to them as junior guests and arranges fun activities so parents can enjoy the wonderful Peninsula Spa by ESPA. The rooms, of course, are luxurious, and each as its own combination fax, printer and copy machine, which the staff will use to get in touch should your “Do Not Disturb” light be switched on. Be sure to enjoy a drink on the terrace of house restaurant Sir Elly’s.

See All Answers

In 20 years, Pudong, the once rural section of Shanghai, has gone from swampland to skyscraping. With that boom came a rise in hotels, and there are now plenty of places to stay on what downtown folk call the other side of the river. These are the best hotels in Pudong.

Lujiazui
These Pudong hotels are in Lujiazui, Shanghai’s CBD, which can be reached by metro line 2 to Lujiazui or Dongchang Lu stops.


The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong 
Attached to the ifc Mall, the hotel has super easy access to metro line 2, which’ll whisk you across the Huangpu River to downtown Shanghai; the Nanjing Dong Lu station is the next stop. Still, it can be sorely tempting not to leave the Ritz at all. The contemporary Art Deco-inspired rooms are enormously comfortable, and so too are the public areas. The view of Shanghai from rooftop bar Flair is unbelievable; sitting outside, you’ll feel like reaching out to touch the glowing pearl tower.

Pudong Shangri-La
Just around the corner from the Ritz is this enormous, 1,000-room hotel, a Lujiazui mainstay. The hotel has six restaurants, including the excellent, ultra family friendly Yi Café, with its for-the-young-and-young-at-heart make your own sundae bar. The Shangri-La is particularly popular with business travelers, especially those here in large groups, so do a little mingling in the lobby and you may find yourself with new opportunities.

Park Hyatt Shanghai
The views alone are worth coming up here, even if you’re staying across the river in Puxi. This is China’s tallest hotel—its floors 79-93—and you’ll be staring straight into the clouds. Shanghai World Financial Center, which houses Park Hyatt Shanghai, has a slew of its own restaurants and a few shops, but for knock-out views, tuck into lunch at one of the hotel’s in-house restaurants, like 100 Century Avenue, or work up an appetite for dainty afternoon tea.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai
The older sibling to Park Hyatt and once China’s tallest hotel, Grand Hyatt Shanghai has spectacular views of the Bund as well as the surrounding Pudong cityscape. The hotel is home to a 33-floor atrium, one of the world’s highest, as well as the world’s longest laundry chute.

Century Park
These two hotels are right across the street from Century Park and close to metro line 2’s Century Park stop and Huamu Lu station on line 7.

Kerry Hotel, Pudong
This is Shanghai’s most family friendly hotel. The Adventure Zone has climbing structures, a ball pit, slides, and plenty of open play space for kids…and those who are kids at heart. Grown ups should take full advantage of the gym and spa, as well as The BREW, where Kiwi brewmaster Leon Mickelson whips up IPAs and a nice, crisp cider. Just across the street is Century Park, where visitors can hire paddle boats or take a spin on tandem bikes.

Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel
Across the street from the Kerry is this Dubai import, adjacent to the Zendai Himalayas Center. The hotel design is eye-popping; there’s a 500-year-old pagoda in the lobby, and the ceiling doubles as an LCD screen. Inside the Himalayas Center, visitors will find the Himalayas Art Museum, which showcases contemporary works. Jumeirah, too, is a stone’s throw from lush Century Park.

Expo
This hotel sits on the former Pudong Expo site, near the new China Art Museum, inside the China pavilion.

Intercontinental Shanghai Expo
Though it was built for the 2010 World Expo, this hotel is still going strong. With the new China Art Museum now open inside the China pavilion, guests at this Four-Star hotel can take in a few Rembrandts by day before retiring to the hotel’s luxe spa come late afternoon. After a massage, slip down to the hotel’s English pub, Liquor Factory, for a few pints.

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